George Bloomfield Reflects on Friendship, Loss, and Musical Discovery in Debut Album Now & Then

Hitting the airwaves this Friday, October 17th, George Bloomfield releases his debut album Now & Then, a deeply personal journey written during a solo retreat in the French Alps. Returning to the town where he once lived with his best friend and musical collaborator, Ed — who sadly passed away in 2020 — George channels reflection, grief, and nostalgia into a collection of songs that fuse indie, jazz, funk, and psych. With live performances at The Great Escape, Live at Leeds, Leeds Jazz Festival, and support for Glass Beams under his belt, plus 4M+ Spotify streams, Bloomfield’s music has already found a devoted audience.

Alongside the album, George also releases a short documentary, More Than Just A Van, which chronicles his relationship with Ed and the van they shared, offering a visual complement to the sonic storytelling of the album. Supported by Youth Music and Leeds City Council, and enhanced by Arts Council funding, the project showcases George’s dedication to blending narrative, music, and personal history.

Ahead of the Brighton album launch at Alphabet on November 11th, we caught up with George to discuss the creation of Now & Then, the influence of Ed, and how visual storytelling intertwines with his music.

1. You wrote much of Now & Then during a solo retreat in the French Alps, returning to a place filled with memories of your friend Ed. How did that setting and sense of reflection shape the music that came out of it?

This is the place where I really discovered my love for music, with my best friend Ed. Writing an album has always been a big goal of mine, and it's something I’m sure I would have done with Ed one day. After his death that was obviously not possible, but it does feel special that I wrote this album in the place where I feel he is most present for me.

2. The album feels deeply personal — processing grief, friendship, and change — yet it still grooves with warmth and optimism. Was it important to balance emotion with that sense of lightness and groove?

I had a lot of time to think while I was out there on my own, so I think much of the songwriting feels very reflective and sort of sums up much of my 20’s. Although I’ve had a few difficult things to navigate in that time - grief being particularly present - it's been mostly an overwhelmingly good period of my life and I’m very lucky! It was important that that would be the feeling - a mostly positive vibe whilst not shying away from touching on the difficult moments either.

3. Your sound blends indie, jazz, funk, and psych influences — sitting somewhere between Khruangbin and Mac DeMarco. What draws you to that space, and how do you find your own identity within it?

I listen to a range of styles and artists with quite an active ear. I really love different parts from all of it, so in general I’m often borrowing my favourite elements from different places and combining it into something that is my own. I sometimes find it hard to know where I sit - too indie for some jazzy curation and also too jazzy for some indie places. I don't feel the need to sit in a genre though, especially because the music I love to listen to most is a combination of influences. I really enjoy writing for horns and combining this with a more indie band setup though so it's something I’ll keep doing - thankfully people seem to be enjoying it!

4. You’ve also created a short documentary, More Than Just A Van, about Ed and your shared creative journey. How does filmmaking and visual storytelling feed into your music, especially your collage-style artwork?

Adding visuals to my music is something I’ve been getting more and more into recently - in part due to an Arts Council funding that allowed me the time to explore it. All my music is written from personal experience so it's been nice to try and add to the narrative of the songs with the visuals that accompany it. We took this one step further with our short film ‘More Than Just A Van’ - which explores how myself and my friend Ed’s family have dealt with our grief after his passing, through honest conversations and soundtracked with my songwriting throughout. In the film we also cover how his old 1990 campervan was shipped back to the UK from Oz and gifted to me to keep exploring. This project was the biggest challenge yet, requiring me to work as part of a team and be more honest about my inspirations and feelings than ever before. I think I’m getting more open with all aspects of my storytelling surrounding my music.

5. Now & Then marks a big step after years of singles and collaborations — BBC support, major festivals, and millions of streams. Looking ahead, what does this release open up for you — artistically or personally?

I think the more the ball starts rolling the more time I can put into my own artist project, which is exciting! Before I was having to squeeze it in around commissioned music, but I am starting to feel like I can also prioritise this. I’m totally independent so each step still feels confusing to work out how to do it at times! It's always been a dream of mine to play a whole summer of festivals. Just got to work out how to make that happen next! I also want to keep writing more music, and think it's about time I did some more collaborating next.